U.S. Census Bureau, Increasing Urbanization

This interactive map uses census data to illustrate the increasing urbanization of the United States between 1790 and 1890. Both the number and size of cities were drastically increasing during this time, reflecting the United States’ shift from a rural, agrarian society to an industrialized one. In 1790, 5.1% of the population lived in cities with 2,500 or more people, and by 1890 that number had risen to 35.1%. The red dots on this map depict cities with populations of 100,000 or more, and the orange dots depict cities with populations between 5,000 and 99,000. Users can click the play button to watch changes occur over time, as well as view the graph below the map, which shows the increase in the percentage of people living in cities with a population of 100,000 or more between 1790 and 1890.